Review 2206: Le Manzinaie, Apartment

When

May 2006, 1 week

Location

A lovely countryside location. Very private. Owners live on site in separate area. We were a party of three married couples. Two couples took a 2bed/2bath appartment with separte rooms adjoined into a common kitchen living area. Very nice. The third couple had a separte apartment with bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. There are two or three more apartments in the complex. There is a swimming pool, bar-b-q area and nice gardens; about two acres in total. This rural location is about five kilometers from Montepulciano and perhaps two or three kilometers from several smaller towns with shopping, groceries, restaurants, etc.

Nearby Amenities

Two kilometers to supermarket, restaurants, etc. Five kilometers to larger hill-town.

The House/Apartment

The building is several hundred years old and now completely restored. It is on an old farm estate. The owners live in a separate area. There are perhaps five or six apartments in the main building, all very nicely restored and keeping the old arched ceilings. Each apartment has a separate bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. Our apartment was approximately 600 sq feet in size.

Garden

The gardens are a treat. Two acres in total and separately into pool area, vegetable gardens, flower gardens, bar-b-q area and some nice private sitting areas.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

First class. Very clean and comfortable. The bed especially was firm. The owners were always available to keep ahead of our needs.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

Kitchen

We generally had breakfast at the apartment. Lots of pots and pans and dishes. We had a bar-b-q one evening and cooked pasta a couple of times.

Problems or Bonuses

Only surprise was a pleasant one. We have rented villas in Italy in the past and this was far and away the best. The reason, our hosts were most friendly and always available to assist with travel reservations, directions, suggestions and so on. The owners daughter is especially skilled on the Internet so was able to make train bookings, museum bookings, etc.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

The weekly price was typical for this kind of accomodation. However, when one considers the premium service and the high standards, this is great value. All members of the host familay are fluent in English.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

Absolutely yes. I will recommend this property to friends and family.

Things to do in this area

Most of the restaurants, winery tours, shopping places that we visited were recommended by our hosts. They have a binder full of recommendations divided into many categories. We did not plan too much of our visit before landing in Italy. About the only thing you need to do in advance is arrange for a car rental since most of the towns and cities that you will want to visit will be 30-45 minutes drive from the villa (ie, Siena, Cortona, Orvieto, Montelcino, etc).

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.